Craving Addict
by smiggers
Summary: [AU] Immunologist!Delphine was assigned to work with Oncologist!Cosima on a mysterious illness that seems to be spreading through the paediatric oncology ward. While Delphine and Cosima struggle to come up with preliminary treatments, they began to unravel the tangled webs of lies surrounding the hospital's research contractor, the DYAD Institute.


Author's Note:

Because its essential to contribute to the Cophine fandom and show some love to this perfect pairing...

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in Orphan Black.

* * *

Cosima Niehaus slumped down into an uncomfortable orange plastic chair, folding her arms over the beige table top. Similar boring furniture were arranged neatly in the hospital cafeteria, only a few of the tables were occupied at this hour, mostly by distraught family members nursing Styrofoam cups of steaming coffee as they awaited news of their loved ones.

Cosima massaged her temples gingerly with one hand while the other unconsciously tugged the lapels of her pristine white coat around herself, the familiar weight of her stethoscope dangling around her neck.

"Rough night?" A low voice interrupted her brief reprieve and Cosima looked up to meet the hopeful eyes of Scott, the on-duty medical technician for the night.

"Yeah. Same old Friday night drama." Cosima gestured for the bespectacled man to take a seat across from her.

"Well, I've got some good news for you. I've got the results for those tests that you asked for." Scott lowered his voice to a whisper, glancing inconspicuously around.

"You do? Great." Cosima's demeanor visibly improved and she sat up straighter, her dreadlocks swishing lightly from the high ponytail she had secured them in.

"Lymphocyte counts were high but there's a marked decrease in comparison with past samples over the last five days." Scott divulged.

"Hmmm..." Cosima hummed in thought as she chewed on her bottom lip, the index finger of her right hand tapping against the frame of her glasses. "Could you run a standard biochem screen?"

"Sure. But exactly what are you looking for?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Just looking out for other factors. Could you make it a priority? I kinda need it. Like real soon."

"What's in it for me?"

At that, Cosima leaned forward, putting on her best smouldering gaze. She could literally hear Scott's breathing hasten and see his nostrils flaring in anticipation. "How about you get to have sex…" She trailed off, watching with amusement at how the technician held his breath, eyes widening behind his glasses in excitement. "-with yourself." Cosima finished leaning back in her seat, grinning smugly as Scott's face fell as he exhaled heavily.

"O – okay…" He managed to respond shakily and Cosima felt a slight pang of guilt. It was blatantly obvious that the technician was absolutely infatuated with her. She could probably tell him to steal a body from the morgue and he would do so without hesitation. It almost made her feel bad for taking advantage of his feelings and making use of him. But she needed those test results. Desperately.

Her pager buzzed in her pocket and Cosima pulled out the hideously pink device from her coat pocket. Jabbing her thumb against a button, her eyes flew across the text on the narrow screen and she sighed.

"Well, work calls. Gotta run." Hopping to her feet, she waved at the dejected technician and hurried out of the cafeteria.

xxx

"So what's the emergency, Fee?"

Felix Dawkins rolled his eyes as Cosima approached the reception. "We're in the emergency room, _everything_ is an emergency." He replied sarcastically in his distinctive British accent.

Cosima shrugged. "Hey just trying to inject some cheer into the typical drunken Friday night."

Felix quirked an eyebrow, unamused. "I could have been in a club, with half a dozen scantily clad men at my beck and call. Yet here I am."

"You could've have declined."

"Yeah, but we need the money."

"You know you guys could have just let me help, right…" Cosima folded her arms over the counter as she peered down at the dark haired slender man dressed in the standard navy blue nursing scrubs.

"And you know sister dearest wouldn't approve." Felix retorted.

Cosima sighed in frustration. Felix was the foster brother of her long lost twin sister with whom she had only recently reunited with. Their reunion was nothing close to a happy affair. It was during another of Cosima's night shifts in the emergency department of Toronto General Hospital when she had strode into one of the consulting rooms and came face to face with someone who looked exactly like her, albeit bruised and bleeding. The thin patient file that she had been perusing fell to the tiled floors as she stared in shock at the woman before her. But it wasn't Sarah Manning that required medical attention. It was Sarah's daughter, Kira who had slipped into unconsciousness after what Cosima deduced had been a case of domestic violence on mother and daughter. The following months had been a nightmare of heartbreaks and tears as the sisters struggled with their newfound realisation and Kira's progressively declining diagnosis. The bruises and cuts on the seven year old had faded and healed but the concussion that she had sustained had caused far more damaged than anticipated. It was through Cosima's referrals that Sarah and Felix had secured jobs with the hospital, thereby ensuring a steady income and the opportunity to be close to Kira while the girl lay in a coma in the paediatric ward.

"Anyway, blondie waiting for consult. She's got baggage." Felix slapped a brown file onto the counter and shooed Cosima away with waves of his hands.

"Alrighty. Thanks, Fee." Cosima held up the folder in salute before turning on her heel and making her way towards the row of consulting rooms.

Flipping the folder open, Cosima skimmed across the patient information papers as she walked; her eyes marvelling at the cursive script filling out the personal details section before flitting over the reason for visit section. With her head still bowed, she knocked lightly on the closed door of consulting room number five, politely announcing her presence before pushing down on the door handle and stepping into the room.

The consulting room, one of several along the hallway was oddly cosy in comparison to the harsh fluorescent lighting that illuminated the hospital corridors. The walls of the room were painted off-white with just a hint of blue. Modern furniture decorated the room; from a glossy white shelving that occupied the wall on the left of the doorway. A glossy white desk with a wide flat screen monitor stood directly before the shelf, a black leather swivel chair tucked neatly into the desk. Three matching leather chairs were arranged around the desk, a pair directly across, and one by the side. An examination bed with white opaque curtains tied back occupied the other side of the room.

"Ms Beraud?" Cosima read off from the file in her hands before looking up. Her eyes fell on a woman with luscious, dyed blonde wavy hair that framed a pale face, hazel eyes partially glazed over met hers and the woman struggled into a sitting position on the examination bed. Cosima gaped for a fraction of a second before her training kicked in and she silently noted the dishevelled appearance of her patient. Felix had not been joking about baggage. A small grey suitcase with a black laptop carrier leaning against it had been left by the desk.

"Ah, just stay there." Cosima suggested as she hurried across the room and her patient gratefully sank back onto the mattress.

Setting the file by the foot of the bed, Cosima rolled a stool closer, perching on the edge of the cushion before regarding her patient.

"I am Dr. Niehaus and I'll be your attending physician this evening. Based on your very detailed description of your symptoms, I'm going to agree with your suspicions of food poisoning. But I'm still going to have to ask a few questions. Protocol and all." Cosima smiled kindly at her patient who seemed to have gone several shades paler in the short span of time they had spent together.

"I'm sure talking is the last thing on your mind right now. So I'll make this quick." Cosima smiled again, trying to lighten the mood.

The blonde blinked slowly and Cosima took that as affirmation.

"Your last meal was more than three hours ago and consumed on board a flight?"

A blink.

"Any allergies?"

Two blinks.

"Alright. I'm going to need you to lie on your back." Cosima waited till her patient had rolled over and unfolded her arms from around her abdomen. "Good. Now, I'm just going to palpate your abdomen. Let me know if it hurts. But before that, would you prefer to have a nurse in the room with us?"

"Non…" The blonde mumbled, her voice weak.

"I'd ask how was your flight from Paris but it's pretty clear it wasn't too great." Cosima grinned as she gently applied pressure with her fingertips along the blonde's abdomen, eliciting a small smile that quickly turned into a grimace.

"There, huh?" Cosima pulled away and reached for the patient folder. "Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to recommend admission for a night or at the very least a few hours. We'll put you on a drip to replace all the fluids you've lost through the uh… process." Cosima caught herself before she mentioned the word 'vomit' lest it induces further regurgitation. "I see you haven't got any emergency contacts listed." She flipped through the folder, lips pursed as she perused the relevant section. "Is there anyone we could contact should the situation call for it? An employer or a colleague perhaps?"

The blonde shook her head lightly.

Cosima chewed on her bottom lip in thought. "Well, here's what. I'll leave a note with my contact details in your file. I'll be on duty for the next couple of hours anyway. Okay, that's all from me. A nurse will come by shortly. Take it easy, alright?"

Cosima patted the blonde's arm reassuring and was about to turn away when she felt cool fingers wrapped around her wrist. Turning back quizzically, she tilted her head to the side as she regarded the blonde peering up at her.

"Merci." Her patient murmured appreciatively, gratitude apparent in hazel eyes.

Cosima grinned. "You're welcome."

xxx

"You look like shite." Sarah Manning commented as Cosima shrugged off her white coat and flopped onto a couch in the staff locker room.

"I feel like shit." The bespectacled twin muttered as she pulled off her glasses and slouched down into the cushions.

Saved for the glasses, the dreadlocks and copious amounts of eyeliner, the facial features that the twins shared were uncanny despite their upbringing in different parts of the world. Like Felix, Sarah had been brought up in London before their foster family moved to Toronto while Cosima grew up in San Francisco and relocated to Toronto recently for her current position in the hospital.

"Tea?" Sarah offered, holding out a ceramic cup of the steaming beverage.

"Thanks. Where's Felix?" Cosima asked as she wrapped her hands around the cup, warming her fingers.

"He got back just as I was waking up." Sarah rose from her seat at the small dining table and crossed over to a floor to ceiling mirror to tie up her hair into a high ponytail.

The twin, older by a mere minute was already dressed in the pale yellow scrubs with faces of cartoon monkeys printed on the fabric; the characteristic attire of nurses assigned to the paediatric ward.

"Should have known he wouldn't wait for me." Cosima sighed, rubbing at her eyes, careful not to smear her eyeliner.

"Well, he's always got plans on the weekend. Anyway, I gotta run. I wanna pop in to see Kira before I start my shift." Sarah waved apologetically as she made for the door.

"Yeah. Give her a kiss from me." Cosima waved back.

The door clicked shut and Cosima rose from the couch, her calves protesting with each step she took towards the pantry to rinse out her cup. It was strange how Sarah seemed to transform into a completely different person around children and it was something that Cosima took a while to get used to. Sarah was, for lack of a better word, horrible with adults. But place her in a room of children, the street smart woman with her leather jacket, short skirt, tights, knee high boots and an attitude to match, magically transformed into a cheerful woman grinning from ear to ear. The crass swearing and attitude gave way to a gentle tone, easily coaxing the shyest of children in the paediatric wards to join in the activities. Motherhood clearly suited her and she was a natural with the kids. It wasn't too hard to convince the department head to offer Sarah a position as an assistant to the ward's early childhood educator.

Cosima glanced at the purple fob watch clipped to the breast pocket of her coat.

8:00 am

She had better head home and get some sleep before she was due to return later tonight for another twelve hour shift.

With the thought of her comfortable bed in mind, Cosima grabbed her duffel bag from her locker and headed towards the restroom for a much needed shower.

xxx

The weekend passed quickly and Cosima found herself rudely awakened on Monday morning at the crack of dawn by her blaring alarm. It took several tries before her palm connected with the beeping device and cutting it off mid beep. Groggily sitting up, the covers pooled in a heap in her lap and Cosima shivered as the cold air raised goosebumps over her exposed arms.

"Fuck mornings." She grumbled as she dragged herself towards the bathroom, the wooden flooring of her apartment cold against her bare feet.

A very long hot shower and a cup of strong coffee later, Cosima was finally fully awake. Her eight week long rotation in the emergency department was over and she could finally return to the oncology ward and her side project. Scott, with a whole lot of bribing in the form of lunch 'dates' had been keeping her cell cultures alive and running analyses on her behalf. But she still had a great deal of data to look through. Patting her dreads dry, she rummaged through her wardrobe for several minutes before deciding on a maroon dress with short sleeves that left most of her upper arms exposed and completing her outfit with dark leggings and ankle boots. She had a full lab day planned, might as well indulge in the opportunity to wear something else other than plain purple scrubs and slip resistant shoes.

Fifteen minutes later, Cosima's black sedan was parked in her allocated lot in the hospital's underground carpark and she was making her way up to the research wing in an empty elevator.

"Hello, lab. I've missed you." Cosima cheerfully greeted as she pushed opened the opaque glass door and flicked on the wall switch.

White fluorescent lighting blinked to life and illuminated the spacious laboratory in its artificial glow. Two wide benches laden with various equipments stood parallel to each other in the centre of the room while a biological safety cabinet separated from the rest of the lab by a curtain of plastic drapes occupied the wall on the left. Arch windows covered in opaque glass let in limited natural light from the morning sun that casted a warm glow over the raised platform that functioned as a workstation and a lounge completed with a two-seater brown couch.

Shrugging off her red woollen coat and exchanging it for her white labcoat, Cosima could barely contain her delight at being back in her element. Like a child, she threw herself into the leather roller chair and scooted across the platform to her workstation. The two monitors situated side by side on the desk blinked to life and Cosima began the arduous task of going through her perpetually flooded inbox.

Cosima clicked through the emails, most of which were internal messages between the department and rarely of any interest to her until she came across one from Dr. Aldous Leekie, the director of the hospital's external research contractor, the DYAD institute where her lab was housed in.

"Shit, shit, shit." Cosima muttered as her eyes darted across the screen, quickly reading the email's contents.

According to the email, the DYAD was assigning an immunologist from their Paris branch to work with her on her side project. Cosima's eyes widened at the stated date and her muttering intensified.

It was today.

She was expected to assist her new colleague when she was barely up to speed with her work.

Shit.

With a sigh, Cosima pulled up a new browser window and accessed the DYAD's website. Her fingers flew over the keyboard, clacking away at the keys as she dug up a profile on Dr. Delphine Cormier. The screen refreshed and Cosima skimmed through the text, nodding her head in acknowledgement of the immunologist's achievements. Impressive was a massive understatement. Dr. Cormier was renowned in her field.

Before Cosima could delve further into the immunologist's list of publications, the lab door clicked opened; immediately drawing her attention. A woman dressed casually in a white blouse and black blazer beneath a dark woollen coat and a matching skirt strode in; knee high black boots clicking against the matte beige tiles. Vibrant blonde, curly locks bounced with each step and Cosima found herself automatically leaping to her feet, her eyes narrowing as she took in the familiar features.

"Miss Beraud?" Cosima asked, confusion etched across her face.

Being a healthcare professional, she meets countless people on a daily basis but there was simply no way she could forget a face, especially one as beautiful as the blonde's. Her patient from her shift last week appeared well rested and fully recovered from the bout of food poisoning. The blonde's skin was still pale with a rosy tinge to her cheeks and lips a pinkish tint.

"Cormier. Delphine Cormier." Delphine held out her hand.

"I'm Cosima." Still a little confused, Cosima took the blonde's proffered hand in a gentle handshake.

"Enchante."

Cosima grinned wider at the distinctive French accent and parroted back the sentiment. "Enchante."

"We have to work on your French." Delphine teased, eliciting an embarrassed chuckle from the brunette.

"So, uh, your last name is not Beraud?" Cosima asked, brows furrowed as she regarded the blonde.

"Ah… it's my mother maiden name." Delphine explained.

"Lying about your personal information to a hospital. What other criminal activities do you participate in during your free time?" Cosima teased, eliciting a guilty smile from the blonde.

"I didn't want my new employers to hear about my unfortunate circumstances." Delphine shrugged.

"Well, as your attending physician, good thing I'm bound by doctor-patient confidentiality. Your secret's safe with me." Cosima winked before a serious expression crossed her features. "How are you feeling, by the way? I came by to check on you but you had already been discharged by then."

"I am feeling a lot better, thank you." Delphine smiled gratefully before turning her gaze to survey the lab.

"So uh, welcome to the lab!" Cosima threw out her arms, gesturing dramatically around the room. "Let me just get you a new lab coat and I'll give you a tour."

Rummaging through a shelf, Cosima pulled out a neatly folded, white lab coat still in its packaging and handed it to Delphine. While the blonde pulled on the familiar protective clothing and surveyed her surroundings, Cosima had begun organising the mess of printouts into neat stacks on her desk.

"Over here, we've got the chill zone, with a nice Persian rug and leather couch." Cosima gestured at the platform while Delphine trailed behind her, still holding on to her coat and her laptop case. "Oh, let me get that for you." Cosima darted forward, taking the items from Delphine's hands and setting them on the couch. "By the way, full disclosure, I may have read up on you just before you walked right in…" She bit on her upper lip. "You've a killer CV."

Delphine averted her gaze in embarrassment. "Thank you." She responded humbly. "You know, your work is very impressive as well and Aldous speaks highly of you."

Cosima blinked in confusion. "Thanks. Uh, Aldous?" She repeated, picking up on the familiarity in the blonde's tone. "First name basis, huh?"

"Yes, we worked together in Paris."

"Ah. Right. I've never actually met him. Heard of him yes, but that's about it. He rarely comes down here to clinical research doctor's jail." Cosima wrinkled her nose in mock annoyance.

"Regardless, he knows about your work."

"Funny, he's never shown any interest since I've started more than a year ago. And I stand corrected." The lab door had opened again and Cosima found herself staring at the gaunt face of Aldous Leekie himself that she had seen so often around the institute.

"Ah, I see you two have met." Aldous began, his voice low and gravelly, sending chills up Cosima's spine.

"Delphine, it is good to see you again. I trust that you are adjusting well?" Aldous lightly touched his fingertips to the blonde's forearm and Cosima noted how the woman's posture tensed at the contact.

"Yes, very well. Thank you. It's a beautiful city."

Aldous smiled at the response, a strange glint in his eyes before he turned to regard the shorter woman. "You must be Cosima." He held out his hand, taking Cosima's in a firm handshake. "Aldous Leekie. I'm sorry we haven't met earlier."

"Well, we're all busy saving the world, right?" Cosima smiled.

The corners of Aldous's lips twitched in bemusement. "That's true, indeed. How do the both of you feel about a dinner? To commemorate our new partnership – in saving the world, one disease at a time?" He glanced at Cosima and Delphine in turn and smiling widely when they looked to each other before nodding slowly. "Fantastic. There's a wonderful restaurant just a few blocks from here. I'll email you the address. See you both there at seven."

Without waiting for an acknowledgement, Aldous swept out of the lab, his white lab coat swishing out behind him.

* * *

A/N:

Cophine's my morphine.


End file.
